tania howells

hi I'm back!

I am back it's true. We have actually been back since late tuesday but I have been doing full days at work covering for everyone else who is still on holidays. It was my turn. I had a really nice time away and got spoiled rotten gift wise- thank-you kind family! Maybe it has to do with being the baby of the family or the fact that I could be given a paper bag and still be thrilled, but it happens every year- I get given great stuff! My brother and sister in law came back from England for the holiday and we all had a great old time.
Me and my mum got crafty (see above) and I finally made the felt balls I have been dreaming about. I also knitted some flower pins and we bakedand baked up a storm.
Some highlights-
♥a walk in the snowfall
♥laughing all through Christmas dinner
♥laughing most of the time
♥doing most of a puzzle
♥a wacom tablette from paul!♥
♥groovy stripey tights, a proper electric kettle and a bath pillow from mum
♥an awesome miffy themed purse from Jonathan and Lisa
♥lazing about and knitting
♥grateful for a life I know is so truly fortunate♥

I am off! I hope everyone has a lovely cozy holiday!

:)

xo
tania

Hello!

My favorite news around here is Beta has started a blog! One of my oldest and bestest pals and her baby are on the air. Now you can finally meet Kaspar. He is who I made the Jess bear for and I am so crazy about the first baby in my circle of friends.
He is also the recipient of one of my first knitting projects, these hats.
Here he is wearing one- the cuteness!

♥

I took this photo last night on my walk up from work to the streetcar. I really like how it turned out! I just love the bare tree branches at this time of year. Things are winding down nicely. I had one crazy rush illustration job on Thursday and it was done Thursday night! I love those, an unexpected paycheck. I haven't even gotten around to closing the shop, but no one has ordered anything since last week anyway which is perfect! Plus most things are sold out. I have 5 days off for Christmas and I can't wait to see my mum. I have grand plans of doing a jigsaw puzzle, eating, reading and starting a new knitting project. In January, I have signed up for a mitten knitting class at Lettuce knit and I can't wait! It is the next knitting mountain to climb- the humble yet mysteriously complicated mitten. Plus, it is on for two Sundays from 10-12, which is absolutely perfect for having dim sum afterwards! This came in the mail from Ally moon! So sweet, they are Christmas magnets- Thank you Jacinta!! I have also been receiving lovely cards from all over. From Camilla and Port to port, from Nicole in Frankfurt, Marlena and Angela B and also ofcourse my member of parliament and my eyeglasses shop too. :) thank you! It's lovely to come home to special things in the mail box.

illustration friday-imagine

click for bigger view...

I found this in some drawings I did. It was on the same page as the alone drawing. I coloured it in and it fits with the "imagine" theme. I bet I was trying to draw a person in a position other than standing stock still looking straight ahead, which is how I always draw people. I am not actually "one of those cat ladies" who take their cats out in a baby carriage. I do imagine it sometimes though! Wouldn't it be cute? I often have dreams that I am at a mall or somewhere, going about my business, with a cat under each arm. (I must be broody) Especially the girl cat. She lets me pick her up and hold her any old way- upside down, over the shoulder. Totally laid back! I love it. Kind of like this great cat!

I finished my bear! I am rather proud to have followed the directions, not drop any stitches and make it round and bear like. He is for a certain baby I know whose name starts with "K". I am sure his mom won't guess with my savvy skills of discretion. Especially since I only know 2 babies and one lives in Victoria B.C. Here you see him enjoying the winter, cozying down into a footstep to stay out of the wind. After I took this we went into the mall for hot chocolate.

I did it! I made cookies from that crazy Martha cookie magazine. It has so many beautiful recipes, but i have always been a one bowl kind of gal, and this recipe ( chocolate crackle) required 3 different bowls, melting chocolate in a double boiler and all that broo haha! But they are delicious. They are for the party at work today. I still have dough left as well for a christams party on sunday. Apart from that I just spent $60 on stamps for Christmas cards- mercy. Sometimes I wonder if sending them out to potential business clients ever even makes a difference!

:)

I love this time of year.

I had not really gotten the hang of flickr- posting pictures there and here just seemed to many things to do. Yesterday, though I saw Jenny's post about her favorites, and suddenly I was hooked!
I spent ages scrolling through everybody's favorites and clicking some into mine. It's so cool! My actual photos still are not so exiting - I just added a few of my images that I have posted on the blog- but it is this feature of favs that exites me right now.
You can see what I have rounded up so far here. It reminds me of my scrapbook in the collecting of inspiring images. So many amazing pictures-yum! I can picture my favorites section getting up to a million pages...uh-oh...

Speaking of yum- look at this lovely french wool site- Laine Zinzin.

The cult movie classics magnet set! For my brother, he likes film. I wasn't clever enough to find all these movies seperately, they were in a cult classics special feature in an old entertainment weekly magazine. I was happy that "Withnail and I" was in there though, we used to love that movie back when we were younger and both still lived at home. I am not proud that I can recite most of the film by heart. I watched it again recently and I found it a bit sad, but that might have just been my pre-occupation with chicken in oven not cooking fast enough.

Therese sent me this book! How VERY very nice. I am exited to try this, partly because I saw crewel flowers all over these expensive sweaters down on Queen street and they looked so sweet. "I could do that!" I thought. I love this time of year. Post craft sales and pre -vacation, my brain is filling up with cozy ideas I want to try and make over the holidays. Thank you again Therese! Watch your mailbox for a little treat soon!

Surprises surprises! In the mail last week I received a surprise GIFT subscription to Beyond Magazine! It is really really good. No ads, wonderful inspiring articles about people doing good in the world, great art and writing. There is even a blog. In fact I had just looked at it in the shop the week before and thought it looked good. I was drawn in by the cool and lovely cover illustration by Jeremiah Ketner. Who could have been the good elf to have done this for me?? Thank-you so much who ever you are!

PHEW!

I am finally at the finish line, I have broken through the ribbon and I am done! No more craft sales, thank heavens. The one last thursday at the CBC was great! I even had a visitor who came specially from seeing the blog to get 2 buttons! :) and then Friday and Saturday I spent at my friend Beta's open house sale, which was also really nice. Krissy came to say hi and bring an AMAZING choclate mint tart. YUM! Paul came by at the end. It was just nice to hang at the house with Beta, the baby and Beta's mum. It was cozy and nice.
I am tired now and I just plan to be christmassy. I got out the old tree- a small plastic number I found in the trash a few years ago and I hung the wreath on the door. I have to bake something for the Christmas party at work thursday. I have to figure out how to get the radiators working in the bedroom and my studio. Every year it is the same! They just go cold and bleeding them does not help.
Wasn't I just complaining that it was too hot?? It is -14C outside! I love the cold weather, but I also love having the heat on inside.

*variations on a theme*

They have put up the big snowflakes in the atrium at work! They look so pretty. Tomorow I will be sitiing under these snowflakes all day selling my wares at a craft show they have yearly here. I like this show because I get to see all my friends from work and it is easy for them to come downstairs to see me! My big treat, which I have been thinking about all week, will be getting lunch from the Thai place in the food court... I can't wait.

Will you look at who is sitting on my book? I was SO exited when Jess Hutch suggested a trade! I sure am a lucky duck this week. He looks so triumphant and cheerful- I love him! Thankyou Jess! He is perfect to carry in my pocket. She is right- the lemon colored wool IS just like play-doh. It isn't salty like play-doh though. I am guessing- I haven't tasted my guy. come on.

♥

This morning my friend Jason sent me the best link! All you Canadian kids of a certain age (30-ish) will be exited to hear all the tv show songs you remember from when you were a kid and watched tv ALL THE TIME! -or was that just me... It has been so long since I heard the song from Jeremy, Fables of the Green Forest and Simon. I still can sing a long. Awesome! Thanks Jason- :)

Oh my and yesterday you will never guess who I got an email from!!!! Yes SHEP MESSING! At first I thought it was a joke and then I was scared that I said something mean in my post and then I emailed back saying thanks. here is what he said-

"Tania:

A friend of mine sent me this:

(the link to my blog post)

Keep up the good work...have fun....and smile!

best wishes.........

Shep Messing"

hee hee! how cute-
you are never safe with google out there!

LOOK! A knitted Simmy by"AX174" (not sure if I am allowed to use her real name! :)) She suggested a trade of this Simmy for a knitted one and I just love it. Yay for the internet and for all you super creative people! Thank you so much ax174-hee hee.

I finally put up my list of inspiration links which I have been squirrelling away since September. It's a long one with credits going to all my favorites- Wee Wonderfuls, Rosa, Camilla, Port to port, liquid sky arts, Oh joy, Angry chicken... you people are great finders of the great sites! ( forgive lack of link-age, its Sunday morning ) Enjoy the round-up, it should take you month to rake through all that.

...and a couple more pretties!
La Fee Coriandre
Mykonos

Well hello!
This show is tonight, in...5 hours. Not too much notice for you Toronto folks! Sorry, I am just running around like a chicken with its head cut off today. It is a funny buzzy tension that seems to be subsiding a bit now. It is sort of fun to feel this way and also not. I have found out they are doing a wee write up on my colouring book in Today's Parent Magazine! Yay!! Probably in January or February, so I better get more printed because I am almost out. I am pleased because for once I plucked up some courage and told the editor there about the book, and it actually paid off!
Because of this, I added a Canadian "BUY NOW" button to the colouring book page in the hopes that the mention in the magazine will generate orders! I also did this for the Christmas card page. Better late than never! Now that I know how, I will eventually do it for all the pages and maybe even a shopping cart. I will probably close the shop around December 15th anyway, like a lot of folks are. They are getting sick of me at the post office!
:)
and thats a good thing! thank you ALL for actually ordering stuff I make!! It has been truly lovely and rewarding! Great fun.